The Crown Bougainvillea florets tremble likescarlet ribbons tied in bows on young flesh Archways of stone outstretchreposeful winds on muted statues with listless stares Foreboding leopard keeps vigila silent killer, her sentry will shield if a threat declares Pillars of light bring rays of respite yettears seal her withering heart within flouted ceiling Ferns rest…
Category: Love
“A Knock” by Joni Caggiano ©️2025 Now Live on HotelMasticadores
A Knock crisp welcoming voice of the wrenhow her incantations I long to hearbut she placed her voice in a boxher color, joy, and song buried near wailing calls soft, tiny bulbs hoist sailoak tree slain by a dismal, frail windroots glisten in the sun, a forest-sickmy body dismantled, like my friend To continue reading,…
Editor’s Pick, “One Petal at a Time,” Live on HotelMasticadores
It is an honor to be featured today on Hotel Masticadores by Michelle Ayon Navajas as the “Editor’s Pick!” She did this for the anniversary of my book, One Petal at a Time. She is especially gracious, as she is releasing an anthology titled After Rain Skies – A Global Anthology to encourage a connection with…
“After Rain Skies: The Global Anthology” Available March 8, 2025
I am honored and proud to be included in this new anthology that Michelle Ayon Navajas has curated. There are more than two dozen talented authors who have contributed to this book with poetry and prose about survival after trauma. Be sure to pick up your copy when it becomes available next week! “I am…
The Cure – Live on HotelMasticadores
The Cure slow motion sobriety stirs direly like ticks on a thin-horned beast the black and white film resonates greasy black hair crawls like ants drunk for weeks, the smell lingers like a mucous trail of a banana slug blood dances a tango in your head vomit and snot, well-oiled fireworks explode on your white…
“Saturday” by Joni Caggiano ©️2025
Saturday cropping memorieslike daisy haircutsbuttery scent sashaypigment blendingmerging, like yolksvision murmurs from easelhis canvas callsendless love linestrokes from brushhis connection to lifetimid she saunters behind golden hatuntil delicate his murmurations of lovemingled with ardent touch cause her to capturerays of sunlightwarm with passionmoments forever lured into lovewith an artistand his frame Hoping that in this…
Exciting News, Yours Truly Nominated For Spillwords Publication Of The Year For “Worn Slap Out”!
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Spillwords Press NYC, Dagmara, and staff for the honor of being nominated for Publication of the Year for 2025 for “Worn Slap Out.” Thank you to all those who voted for me in June. This is a piece written in the North Carolina dialect from the…
”Red Ball” Now On Hotel Masticadores
Red Ball Hannah wept silently into her dusty apron. She spun her thin face around, much like a donut, awaiting its freckling of powdered sugar. Tears cast their agonies upon hand-stitched hydrangeas, petunias, and magnolias while honeybees clung close with their bulging pollen-laden legs. Ruth had spent six months embroidering this apron for her and…
”Pheochromocytoma” Now On Chewers Masticadores
Pheochromocytoma She huddles coiled amongst the swath of blackberry with her matrix of thorny needles, spewing forth her painful pricks. Nerve bundles lay excavating within shredded muscles. Pain caused by unsummoned moles that convert and blast into a red-brick wall, a boundary of sanity and lost childhood of her red-brick prison. Pallid pathways etch memories…
“Sunbird” Up For Publication Of The Month On Spillwords
My poem “Sunbird” published earlier this month has been nominated for publication of the month on Spillwords! Please read the original post below to read the poem and be sure to vote at the embedded link below or here. Thanks again to Spillwords for continuing to support fellow writers and artists, and thanks to all…